For the coaching carousel, the day after the regular season is always the most interesting of the year. Typically, it’s when schools who have known for a long time that they’re going to make a change announce it officially and schools who have had weeks to run their searches behind the scenes race to roll out their new coaches.

But this year feels a bit different, as the intentions of several programs are still a bit unclear. Meanwhile, with Kansas filling its opening early with Les Miles, Shakeup Sunday will begin with just three Power Five schools — Colorado, Maryland and Louisville — in the middle of searches.

After conversations with several industry powerbrokers over the course of the week, the following appears to be the lay of the land. As always, these situations are highly fluid and the people with knowledge of these situations were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

Louisville: The Cardinals have been eager to make a hire quickly, and even though the public narrative has been focused on Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, it was far from a done deal as of Saturday night. In fact, the feeling within the industry as Brohm’s Purdue team kicked off against Indiana was that the more likely outcome was that he would stay put with a big new contract extension rather than go home to Lousiville, which has been skittish about giving out the kind of large, fully guaranteed contract it would require to lure Brohm from the Big Ten. Louisville athletics director Vince Tyra was said to have been exploring other candidates over the weekend. Among those who are believed to be of interest: Troy’s Neal Brown, Syracuse’s Dino Babers and Memphis’ Mike Norvell, though his team advancing to the AAC championship game means Louisville would have to wait another week if he becomes the top target. Louisville could still land Brohm, but the financial piece will be critical.

Colorado: Though initial reports about Colorado candidates included several of the Air Raid/Spread offense types like Brown, Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson and North Texas’ Seth Littrell, Colorado athletics director Rick George spent the last week vetting candidates with more of a proven defensive track record. One school of thought is that George believes the Buffaloes’ best chance to compete in the Pac 12 South is to build a top-notch defense rather than try to to out-skill the likes of Southern Cal and UCLA. Colorado doesn’t seem to be as far along in its search as Louisville. Utah State coach Matt Wells, who is an offensive-minded coach but whose teams have had success defensively, could be in play.

Maryland: Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who was Maryland’s interim head coach in 2015, is favored by some powerful interests within the school. But is it wise for a program that has gone through as much turmoil and scandal over the past year as Maryland to hire someone whose record is less-than-spotless? Locksley’s tenure at New Mexico was marred by on- and off-field issues, including a 2-26 record and a suspension for punching one of his assistant coaches. He was also the subject of an age discrimination and sexual harassment compliant by a former administrative assistant, though it was later withdrawn and the accuser attributed the incident to a “misunderstanding.” Given that history, it may be difficult timing for him to return to Maryland. Matt Canada has done an admirable job as the current Maryland interim, but the Terps are more likely to hire from outside.

Texas Tech: There is near-unanimity among insiders that Kliff Kingsbury’s fate was sealed by the Red Raiders’ late season slide regardless of the outcome Saturday. It’s possible Texas Tech losing to Baylor, 35-24, to finish 5-7 makes it easier for athletics director Kirby Hocutt to sell that a change needs to be made. Kingsbury, 39, came into his alma mater with a lot of promise and momentum but has stalled out, going 5-7 in 2016, 6-7 in 2017 and 5-7 this season. It’s simply time for something new. The hot rumor has been that Texas Tech could try to lure Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables due to his relationship with Hocutt — they played together at Kansas State — but Venables has turned down better situations before. Someone like Brown or Littrell, both of whom had stints at Texas Tech, would make far more sense.

Boston College: The Eagles’ late-season collapse, combined with his contract situation, has put Steve Addazio’s job in jeopardy. Addazio’s last announced extension took him through 2020, which means he’s only got two years left on his deal (it's possible Boston College, a private school, quietly gave Addazio more years at some point. It was never announced, however.) That’s typically the point where a school decides to either extend again or make a change. Boston College rolled into Clemson at 7-2 but then lost three in a row, including to woeful Florida State to change the narrative of the season. Removing Addazio, who has made five bowl games in six years, could be risky for a program that doesn’t have many advantages in the ACC. But athletics director Martin Jarmond is young and ambitious and could see an opportunity to lure someone like Ohio State offensive coordinator Ryan Day.

Georgia Tech: Does Georgia Tech want Paul Johnson back, and does he want to be back? Johnson has survived, and at times thrived over his 11 seasons at Georgia Tech. But it’s also been a tough, hard grind for Johnson, who has gotten close to the hot seat a few times only to bounce back with strong seasons. Johnson, 61, has plenty of interests outside of football and has made it known that he’s not going to hang on forever. But the program is also just now starting to improve its facilities, and he may feel like there’s a chance to be good next season with a solid amount of returning talent. This year was a mixed bag for the 7-5 Yellow Jackets, who struggled early but finished strong until getting dump-trucked by Georgia 45-21 in a game that put the talent difference between the two rivals in stark relief. The feeling is here Johnson comes back in 2019, but he will be under pressure to show some improvement.

Kansas State: This is a difficult situation, as Bill Snyder apparently has shown no intention of relinquishing power even as the program slides down to the bottom of the Big 12. One school of thought here from some in the industry: If Snyder is holding on because he wants his son Sean to take over, why not just do it? If Sean Snyder can’t get the job done, it will be apparent enough and the school can make the move in a year or two. Alternatively, if Kansas State forces Snyder out without his full agreement, you could set the next coach up where the program’s singular legendary figure is effectively working against the program behind the scenes.

Florida State Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois (12) flips the ball to an official after scoring against the Florida Gators during the second-half action at Doak Campbell Stadium. Glenn Beil, USA TODAY Sports

Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Raheem Blackshear (2) is tackled by Michigan State Spartans linebacker Joe Bachie (35) during the first quarter of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina: Despite the Internet rumor that sprouted this week about Mack Brown possibly coming back to replace Larry Fedora, the consensus opinion is that Fedora will more than likely be back, buoyed by some competitive performances to end the season including Saturday’s overtime loss to N.C. State. The $12 million buyout is more than North Carolina wants to pay, and athletics director Bubba Cunningham values both the stability Fedora provides and the adroitness with which he handled the fallout of the academic scandal that occurred prior to his arrival but hung over the athletics department for years. Still, Fedora is just 5-17 over the last two years and will need a major bounce-back in 2019 if he returns.

Southern Cal: With the Notre Dame game pending, the overarching feeling is that change is both needed and inevitable given Clay Helton’s struggles this season. Penn State coach James Franklin’s pointed refusal to knock down any potential interest in this job only added fuel to the fire given that Franklin is the name that by far makes the most sense here. It will be very expensive for USC to part ways with Helton after giving him a contract extension last season, and cost a ton to lure someone of Franklin’s caliber. But if USC wants to get back in the game of big-time college football, it has no choice.